Plant Category: Eswatini

Aubergines (also known as Eggplant or by the plant’s botanical name, Solanum melogena) are tender plants that need warmth and bright sunshine if they’re to thrive.  Sow aubergine seeds in pots of peat-free compost, inside a heated propagator or glasshouse, from January to April.  Ensure your seedlings are grown in an area that enjoys bright light.

From the end of May or beginning of June, (when there is no risk of cold temperatures or frost) if you garden in a warm area, aubergine plants can be hardened off (brought out from the glasshouse during the daytime and then taken back inside again at night for a couple of weeks), before being planted outside in a warm, bright and sunny area. 

Cucumbers (also known by their botanical name – Cucumis sativus) are popular vegetables that are easy to grow and can produce a bountiful harvested of cucumbers.  Cucumber plants form climbing or trailing plants that can be left to scramble horizontally over the ground or trained to grow vertically using wires, twines, or other supports.

Gardeners can choose from a range of cucumber varieties available at nurseries, garden centres, and online retailers. 

Angraecum sacciferum is a miniature sized orchid species that can be found growing in the wild, over a widespread area.  This orchid species is a wild plant from many locations, including: Burundi, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  Angraecum sacciferum grows as an epiphyte – when it’s found growing upon trees, and as an lithophyte – when plants are seen growing on or over rocky or stony surfaces, in wet areas, near rivers or streams.

Chlorophytum comosum is usually harder to find than the more commonly found, variegated forms of Chlorophytum comosum.  However, this all green form is easier to grow than the variegated types of spider plant.  Chlorophytum comosum copes better with lower light levels and this form is more resilient than any of the variegated spider plants, so if you love spider plants but your home is not quite bright enough to grow the variegated forms successfully, you may want to seek out this green leaved form of Chlorophytum comosum.